April Multi-Cultural Book Challenge with Jolene Perry, Author of Night Sky

This month, KM at One Page At A Time is hosting Jolene Perry, author of Night Sky for the Multi-Cultural Book Challenge. Click on over there to read an excerpt from this beautiful YA contemporary novel and enter the giveaway to win an electronic copy of the book!

Title: Night Sky by Jolene Perry

Release Date: March 1, 2012
Publisher: Tribute Books
Pages: 247 pages
Genre: YA Contemporary

Goodreads Summary: Girl I’ve loved, girl I’m falling for. Now that they’re both in view, the problem is clear.

After losing Sarah, the friend he’s loved, to some other guy, Jameson meets Sky. Her Native American roots, fluid movements, and need for brutal honesty become addictive fast. This is good. Jameson needs distraction – his dad leaves for another woman, his mom’s walking around like a zombie, and Sarah’s new boyfriend can’t keep his hands off of her.

As he spends time with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with drums - she's way more than distraction. Jameson's falling for her fast.

But Sky’s need for honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story – and Jameson just may need more than his new girl to keep him distracted from the disaster of his senior year.

Book Review: Fallen

Title: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Release Date: Dec. 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 452 pages
Genre: Paranormal

Goodreads Summary: There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Let me start by saying that I don’t like writing negative reviews but if I don’t like a book, I’m going to honesty state that. I know that the Fallen series has a ton of fans, but this was just not the book for me. I have no problems with Lauren Kate’s writing, my issues are with the characters and the plot.

After an accident that left her crush burned to death, Lucinda “Luce” Price is court ordered to attend a reform school in her home town. Once at the creepy, run down school, Luce sees Daniel, a boy that seems very familiar to her and one that she just can’t get out of her head.

There are several reasons that I don’t like Fallen and while I won’t list them all, I will point out a few.

This book is A LOT like Twilight! Girl shows up at a new school. She is inexplicably drawn to a beautiful boy who, for no apparent reason, treats her badly and tells her to stay away from him. Girl is confused because boy is hot and cold to her. Boy saves girl from accident that would kill her. There is a love triangle involving another beautiful boy. Both boys have superpowers and are enemies. I could keep going but I won’t. I know Stephanie Meyer did not originate the supernatural boy hates girl publicly but loves her secretly/love triangle plot in a book, but this feels too much like Twilight with angels to me. I found it unoriginal and quite frankly, unappealing.

Stupid, weak willed main character. Yes, stupid is a strong word and one that I ask my kids not to use (especially to describe people) but I can’t think of another word to describe Luce’s actions in Fallen. It does not matter how poorly Daniel treats Luce, she can’t stop obsessing about him left me feeling like she was a doormat. Luce also continues to accept Cam’s advances even after she knows she is not interested in him because she doesn’t have the courage to break it off. The final straw for me was when Cam prevents Luce from going to Daniel, she kisses him so he will let her go. Really? How about trying to fight him off or screaming for help? Making out with the guy holding you against your will is just not the way to go.

Underdeveloped characters. I’m at the point that I will be avoiding all books that the main character is INEXPLICABLY drawn to a love interest. I get that the characters in Fallen have a history together and ‘know’ each other from before but it all felt underdeveloped to me, especially Luce’s attraction to Daniel. I feel like I need to know why he fell for her in the first place and vice-versa. Maybe I missed this explanation while reading the book which leads me to my next point:

Unexplained plot points. How did the accident at Luce’s first school happen? Why are all these angels, immortal beings with so much power, in high school and such a run-down reform school at that? Why was Cam so insistent on Luce wearing the necklace with the snake charm? It’s possible I missed these explanations in the book, let me know if I did.

Stereotypical characters. Cam, Molly and Roland, the ‘bad’ angels, all have black hair (in Roland’s case, he is of Africa American decent). Daniel and Gabbe, the ‘good’ angels, are blond. Arriane would be the exception of course since she is a ‘good’ angel with brown hair. Still, the whole dark being bad and blond being considered good really annoyed me. I also need to mention that Roland, the only ethnic character in the book, is the guy that can sneak anything into the boarding school including alcohol and drugs. The idea of the black kid being the hustler is offensive and also annoying.

I have other issues with Fallen and I have not even touched on how silly the religious aspect of this book is portrayed, but I will stop here as I think you probably get my point. The Fallen series has been optioned by Disney and I think the first movie from the series will be in theaters this fall. Undoubtedly, we will hearing a lot more about these books as the year progresses.

Have you read the books in the Fallen series? If yes, how did you like it? Do the sequels offer answers that I missed in Fallen? Are you interested in seeing the movie when it comes out?

Content: Profanity, kissing, underage drinking and violence.

My Rating: Disappointing

Kindle Fire + $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Twenty-five awesome book blogs have joined together to bring you one great giveaway: a Kindle Fire + a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card to buy ebooks!

From April 6th to 22nd you can enter to win! One winner will receive a brand new Kindle Fire plus a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card to purchase content for their new Kindle Fire.

Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

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Hoppy Easter Eggstravag​anza Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Hoppy Easter Eggstravag​anza Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Once Upon a Twilight. This hop runs from April 6-12.

For this hop, I’m giving away an ARC of Awkward by Marni Bates. This book is a really sweet and funny contemporary YA novel, you can read my review here. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck. I also have a bunch of other giveaways going on including The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa, Partials by Dan Wells and the entire Galahad series by Dom Testa. Have a safe and blessed Easter weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Friday Society

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

Title: The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

Publisher: Dial
Publish Date: Dec. 6, 2012
Genre: Historical, Steampunk

Goodreads Summary: Be your own hero . . .

Set in London at the turn of the last century, the novel follows the stories of three intelligent and very talented young women, all of whom are assistants to very powerful men: Cora, lab assistant to a member of parliament; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant to a martial arts guru; and Nellie, a magician's assistant. The three young women’s lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It’s up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder—and the crimes they believe may be connected to it‐‐without calling too much attention to themselves.

Told with Adrienne Kress's sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike--well, relatively ladylike--heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.

Why am I waiting on The Friday Society? I love the cover of this book! It reminds me of a steampunk Charlie’s Angels. Additionally, the story sounds really fun, original and exciting. What books are you waiting on?

Book Review: The Faerie Ring

Title: The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Release Date: Sept. 27, 2011
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 352 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Historical

Goodreads Summary: Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger. 

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood - Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched - and protected - by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief - all must work together to secure the treaty…

The Faerie Ring is historical YA fiction with a fantastic setting and exciting paranormal elements and since this is all stuff that I adore, I have no idea why it took me so long to read this book!

Kiki Hamilton does an excellent job of transporting the reader to the dirty, poverty stricken streets of London and the opulence of Victorian Buckingham Palace. He world building is awesome and my favorite aspect of this book which is saying a lot because the plot of The Faerie Ring is really good too.

Tiki is an interesting character, one that took me a few chapters to get warmed up to. Tiki and her band of orphans are thieves and not the Robin Hood sort who steal only from the rich. They steal what they need from anybody, rich or poor and are completely unremorseful about it. It just didn’t sit well with me at first but as I continued to read, I realized just how little options these children and teens had. It was either go into an orphanage and be forced into back-breaking child labor, prostitution or stealing. Under these circumstances, I would have become a thief too. The abject poverty and desperation these kids are in very well described and so when Kiki steals the ring, you understand her motivations behind her actions.

At 16, Kiki is the mother figure for the group of orphans and she takes care of them through any means necessary. While providing for her ‘family,’ Tiki keeps running into another thief, the handsome and enigmatic Rieker. Rieker always seems to show up when Kiki needs help and becomes her protector, but who is he really and what are his motivations? Hamilton’s smooth writing kept me guessing about Rieker throughout the entire book.

Secondary characters in the book are also very well done. The fey are appropriately vicious and I love how Hamilton weaves real people from history like Princes Leopold and Arthur into the story.

The Faerie Ring is an exciting, sweet and satisfying book and best of all, no cliffhanger! I loved the end and cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical, fantasy or sweet love stories. If you have not read this book yet, do it! It’s definitely worth your time. When the sequel, The Torn Wing, is released in October, I will be reading it right away.

Content: Kissing and violence.

My Rating: Really Good!

Book Review: Goddess Interrupted

Title: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Release Date: March 27, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 304 pages
Genre: Mythology
Source: Publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads Summary: Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it. Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. Henry's first wife, Persephone.

I love mythology and really enjoyed the modern twist Aimee Carter put on her debut novel, The Goddess Test. I have been looking forward to Goddess Interrupted to see where Carter would take the story and what twists she would put on this second book in the series. While I have some issues with this second book, it is still really entertaining and a treat for mythology lovers.

At the end of The Goddess Test, Kate leaves her new husband, Henry, to spend her six months above on a vacation as per their agreement. While Kate is disappointed that Henry never visited her while she was above, she is very excited to get back to him and start their life together. Unfortunately, scheming gods and goddesses have other plans for Kate and Henry.

Goddess Interrupted is set almost entirely in the underworld and I loved the setting. Kate moves into the dark but beautiful palace but soon after, she goes on a quest with James and Ava that takes them through the underworld, which is great because Aimee Carter’s setting is both dreamy and hellish.

Goddess Interrupted is very similar to other middle books in a YA series in that the couple who fought so hard to be together in the first book now face numerous relationship problems in the second book, problems that could be quickly resolved if they just sat down and had a mature conversation with each other. I know, I know. If they did that, then most of the conflict and tension would be gone from the plot.

Instead of being the warm, loving husband Kate yearns for, Henry is cold and distant. I hate that Kate spends a good portion of the novel wondering if Henry will return her affections and being jealous of his ex-wife (and her half sister), Persephone. I was frustrated by Kate and Henry’s lack of communication and felt that all the progress that they made in the first book went out the window as soon as the second one began. It was like they were starting their relationship all over again. Additionally, Kate is made to sit out most of the fighting and so the reader is left out of a lot of the action as well.

While I’m being critical of this book, there is plenty to love. The family dysfunction that Greek myths are known for is very present in Goddess Interrupted and the addition of Cronus as another antagonist in the story was great. Additionally, the book is very fast paced and I had a hard time putting it down. Despite its issues, Goddess Interrupted is totally worth reading but I have to warn you that it ends with a heck of a cliffhanger. I am dying to read the next book in the series to see what happens.

Content: Kissing, sexual situations, profanity and violence.

My Rating: Just Fine